Junglee scarf, Lagaan bat go under hammer today

NEW DELHI: The Osian’s film fest will witness an auction of Indian cinema memorabilia on Tuesday. Items from the private collection of the legendary Shammi Kapoor are the auction’s highlight. They include his famous scarf from Junglee (1961), a sweater from Andaz (1971), the shehnai from his last film Rockstar (2011) and one of his favourite Mont Blanc pens.
Also on the list is the last unreleased song by Kishore Kumar recorded just three days before his demise.The auction offers a rare opportunity for Kishore fans to purchase the rights of this rare song. The list also includes private collection of eminent film producer Suresh Jindal.
Other items on offer at Hotel Imperial include a rare album of 45 signed black and white photographic by the evergreen Dev Anand, rare costumes worn by Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan in Shatranj ke Khilari from the Suresh Jindal collection, Satyajit Ray-designed film posters of the 1960s, a turquoise ring set in silver worn by Farooque Sheikh in Muzaffar Ali’s famous Umrao Jaan, a cricket bat signed by Aamir Khan and the team from Lagaan and very rare photographic stills mounted on lobby cards and show cards from Aan, Mother India, Dil Diya Dard Liya, Leader, Humraaz, Zanjeer, Aan Milo Sajna and other classic films.
According to Neville Tuli, the founder chairman of Osian’s, the process of marketing film memorabilia started in 2000 when he started the art auction house.
“India has been so disrespectful and negligent of film memorabilia that over 90% of it is gone forever. Publicity material even in the West only started getting respect in the 1970s. And we are always 20-30 years behind. We are building a museum, an archive, a knowledge base to transform the sensibilities of a culture,” Tuli said.
More than a decade later, Osian’s continues to build on its auction segment. “It’ll take another 2-3 years for the auction to build up. This is ground zero level where we are just giving them away for just Rs 20,000. Imagine the first original poster of Mughal-e-Azam is cheaper than buying a pair of jeans in a mall. The world has lost its perspective. Let us see what happens tomorrow,” he said.
Tuli said it is sad that in a country which is so passionate about cinema, the market for vintage Indian cinema publicity material and memorabilia is at such infancy.
“This not only reflects the lack of a cinematic culture but also a lack of financial clout in the global context. It must change. The Indian film fraternity must start respecting its history, the work of its peers, and the art of its publicity material.”